Bingo is a game of chance played with a pool of numbers ranging from 1-75. There are many variations of the basic game of bingo, which is played on a square game-sheet having five rows and five columns forming 25 smaller squares. Each of the five columns is headed by one of the five letters in the word BINGO. The numbers 1-75 are divided into five groups of 15 numbers each, and each group of 15 numbers is associated with one of the letters in the word BINGO. In other words, the numbers 1-15 are associated with the letter ‘B’; the numbers 16-30 are associated with the letter ‘I’; the numbers 31-45 are associated with the letter ‘N’; the numbers 46-60 are associated with the letter ‘G’; and the numbers 61-75 are associated with the letter ‘O’. On a player's game sheet, the five squares in each column are filled with five numbers randomly drawn from the 15 numbers associated with that column's letter. During the game, the house randomly draws numbers between 1 and 75, and players match the drawn numbers with numbers on their game sheet. The first player to match all of the numbers in any row, column, or diagonal of their game sheet is a winner. However, since the numbers on the game sheets are random, and the numbers drawn are also random, it is possible to have more than one simultaneous winner.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the steps of another known version of playing bingo. In this version, rather than playing with a 25 square game sheet, players are provided with small cards similar to instant-win lottery tickets. When opened, each card is printed with three numbers in the range of 1-75. A player wins whenever the three numbers on the player's card have been called.
In the example shown in FIG. 1, it is assumed that 1,000 cards are distributed to players. This number, of course, may be more or less. At step 11, the House prints (or has a vendor print) a large number of cards with three random numbers in the range of 1-75. At step 12, the House distributes 1,000 cards to the players. At step 13, the house randomly calls numbers in the range of 1-75. Generally, the called numbers are displayed on a large flashboard visible to all players. The positioning of the called numbers on the flashboard has no significance to the game. The flashboard is merely utilized as an aid to remind players which numbers have been called.
The House continues to call random numbers, until one or more simultaneous winners are determined. At step 14, the House pays out winnings to the simultaneous winners, which may theoretically be anywhere in the range of 1-1,000 simultaneous winners.
It is often desirable from the perspective of the House and the players to have a single unique winner of a bingo game. If the House promised a particular prize to the winner, and there were several simultaneous winners, the House may have to pay out more than anticipated. On the other hand, if a fixed amount is available for the winner, and there are several winners, then the fixed amount must be split between the winners.
Prior art methods of playing bingo do not ensure a single unique winner of a bingo game. What is needed in the art is a bingo game and method that overcomes the shortcomings of prior art methods of playing bingo. The present invention provides such a bingo game and method.